Topic: Poverty and hunger

General Studies – 2; Topic: Poverty and hunger;Climate Change and Poverty1) Introduction Climate change hits the poorest people the hardest, those living in vulnerable areas with the fewestresources to help them adapt or recover quickly from shocks. Up to 122 million more people worldwide could be living in extreme poverty by 2030 as a result ofclimate change and its impacts on small-scale farmers’ incomes, a major UN report warned.2) Dimensions of poverty Often the dimensions that are considered to assess poverty include living standards, assets, health,income, consumption and status in their societies. But the measures such as nutrition, quality houses, access to energy services and drinking water,level of education, jobs, and social conditions such as caste all become relevant when one tries tounderstand the different manifestations of poverty. MPI (Multidimensional Poverty Index), developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human DevelopmentInitiative (OPHI) looks at the dimensions of education, health and standard of living, giving them allequal weightage. MPI help us to estimate not only how many people are poor, but also the quality and depth of theirpoverty. Planning Commission estimated poverty in India to be at 22% of the population in 2011-12. Whereas, MPI for India calculated using India Human Development Survey data of 2011-12,estimates that 41% of the people were multi-dimensionally poor.3) How future Climate change will affect the poor? Unpredictable weathera. The adverse effects of climate change are droughts, floods, heat waves, sea level rise andrelated problems are food shortages, spread of diseases, loss of jobs and migration.b. These will harmfully affect the poorest and further deteriorate the quality of their lives.c. Numerous studies have shown that the poor suffer the worst effects from climate variabilityand climate change. Food Securitya. The poorest are the most affected by severe droughts that lead to food shortages and higherfood prices. Economya. The countries with the fewest resources are likely to bear the greatest burden of climatechange in terms of investment and the economy. Example, El Niño affecting agriculture andfisheries As the impacts of climate change worsen, it will become harder to eliminate poverty. That leaves anarrow window for ending extreme poverty. Climate change will further reduce access to drinking water and negatively affect the health of poorpeople in many countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Climate variability and climate change impacts can prevent us from reaching and maintaining theSDG targets.

4) Solution ‘climate-proofing’ sustainable development efforts are important. Current efforts should remainrelevant in the face of future climate impacts. Adaptation programmes ought to be designed so that challenges faced by people living in povertyare recognised and reduced. Ex: A district with severe nutritional deficiency along with drought from climate change, then thefocus ought to be on improving local food access and managing water efficiently to prepare forfuture water shortages. Similarly, sanitation and housing ought to be improved in future flooding areas and use appropriatedesign strategies that are resilient to water-logging. Improved governance, including an active civil society and open, transparent, and accountablepolicy and decision making processes. Mainstreaming climate issues into all national, sub-national, and sectoral planning processes. Empowerment of communities so that they can participate in assessments and feed in theirknowledge to provide useful climate-poverty information. Vulnerability assessments that fully address the different shades and causes of poverty. Access to good quality information about the impacts of climate change. This is key for effectivepoverty reduction strategies. Increasing the resilience of livelihoods and infrastructure as a key component of an effectivepoverty reduction strategy. 2016 State of Food and Agriculture report states that without “widespread adoption of sustainableland, water, fisheries and forestry practices, global poverty cannot be eradicated”. Carbon pricing, for example, help lower emissions and can create a revenue stream from that canbe used to help the poor offset any rise in fuel or energy prices. Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies can also help lower emissions and free up government spending formore targeted support for the poor.5) Conclusion Measuring poverty through its different dimensions would help policymakers figure out whichaspects of poverty expose the poor and exacerbate their vulnerability to climate change. Through such a process, India could also serve as a standard for other poor and developingcountries that are beginning to think about inclusive “climate proofed development”. Today agriculture holds the key to solving the two greatest challenges facing humanity: eradicatingpoverty and maintaining the stable climatic corridor”.